The first trip report for No Work All Travel involves a place that needs no introduction … here is my hotel review for the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. I can’t recall the first time I read about the Marina Bay Sands resort, herein known as the MBS. But I do remember it being a big […]
Catfish and Earthquakes
Take a stroll around the Yaesu exit (八重洲口) of Tokyo train station along Sotobori St (外堀通り), and you might notice a seemingly bizarre graphic on one of the road signs: Looks like a chuffed catfish, right? Well, if you’ve traveled a bit around Japan, you might have mistaken the image for one of the myriad yurukyara (ゆるキャラ), or […]
First Trip of 2023: Good Eats in Mexico City
There were indeed good eats in Mexico City for my first vacation of 2023, but I actually started off with a project in Puebla, a city about 2.5 hours by bus from the Mexican capital. Undoubtedly, Puebla is a food center in its own right, being one of the homes of mole (link in Spanish), as […]
Tokyo Introduces Plans for a New Metro (Subway) Line
By 2040, Tokyo is going to have a new metro line. Expected to cost between ¥420 and ¥510 billion (at today’s unpredictable exchange rate, that’s around US$3.18 billion to US$3.67 billion), the new line, which aims to connect Tokyo Station with Ariake — home of Tokyo Big Sight (one of the largest convention centers in Japan) […]
Architectural Spotlight: Cinema Rossiya in Yerevan, Armenia
Discovering what I would consider to be unusual examples of architecture is a major plot point in how I create itineraries. Whether it’s random geodesic domes and Ferris wheels, religious structures that can’t make up their minds, or tackily-colored eyesores, I have made many a pilgrimage to these types of (subjectively?) zany attractions. To wit, […]
The Wednesday Who of Airport Names: Jacqueline Cochran
In this week’s Wednesday Who of aviation history, we’ll be learning about the name behind Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Coachella Valley, California. Born on 11 May, 1906 in Muscogee, Florida, Bessie Lee Pittman grew up in poverty, and with very little in the way of schooling. At eight years old, her family moved to […]
Guangzhou Circle: Modern Chinese Architecture
I wax nostalgic for taking long walks around Chinese cities, appreciating their overzealous appreciation of geodesic domes, bumper car facilities, and some of the most bizarre ideas ever constructed. Today’s specimen: the 138-meter (just under 453 feet) Guangzhou Circle (广州园大厦), located in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. Completed in December 2013 by Milan, Italy-based architect Joseph di […]
Emirates Inaugurates the World’s Largest Vertical Farm in Dubai
Regardless of one’s opinion about the genesis of climate change, the phrase is regularly mentioned in many countries throughout the world. Is it just another expected phase in our planet’s history, or did the industrial revolution lay the groundwork for our mutual destruction? And to what extent are airplanes guilty for any possible environmental crisis? […]
